But one unnamed Granddad kept acting up and pinching an unnamed Grandma in an unnamed place.
The next two photos describe it best as my niece hides her face in embarrassment as someone shouts "Grandbo STOP!"
Friends of ours recently lost all of their material possessions in a house fire that consumed everything, except them and their pets. It was devastating. I was blown away by the complete destructive power of fire. My heart has been so heavy for my dear friend. Nothing I could do but pray, offer clothes, and gift cards. Prayer, of course, has been most important. But my heart still breaks for them and their loss.
It’s been so hard to watch them grieve but so wonderful to watch people reach out and help them. Some haven’t even known them. Some have been good friends. But all have been "Jesus with feet" to my dear friend and her family.
Yesterday they got to pick up their children from their grandmother’s house. I am so humbled by God working to bring this family back together for Christmas. It seems like all of life is okay just because they are now together.
I know there will be times when certain material possessions are missed, making them sad. But I also know Jesus is there to rebuild what no man can…..a family.
Join me in prayer and praise for this beautiful family God is rebuilding.
What a Christmas!
I praise you Lord Jesus!
IN HIM….
Boys will be boys!
And these three are something else.
Two are mine and one is a good friend.
I don’t know how many of you watched the Hallmark Special A Dog Named Christmas …it was on a few weeks ago. We taped it and watched it as a family. The jest of the story is that a family adopts a dog for Christmas and then the boy asks the entire community to adopt a dog for the Holidays.
We had just recently found a stray kitty and gave her to a dear friend.
We missed her terribly. All of the sudden there was a hole in our family. See?
There’s Fred, the now 20 lb cat. And Cruiser, another stray who found his way into our home about a year ago.
After contacting PetFinder unsuccessfully we decided to visit our local shelter to see what they had available.
We found a very sweet loving 7 month old cat. We really had hoped for a younger kitten but, hey, everyone needs a home. So we adopted her with the help of a dear friend from Bible Study. She paid for the adoption fee. Thanks so much!!!
Here she is being held captive by my youngest in the school room.
Oh that’s better, now she’s relaxed!
Needless to say she gets lots of love!
So can anyone guess her name?
Yep.
"Christmas"
So now the unfilled sofa cushion can have a nice warm kitty on it too….
…once we let her outside.
This year I think Christmas is going to be different for a lot of people. Just like us.
It took a good friend to show me that the other day.
I know the economy is tough everywhere. And I’m guessing a lot of folks are bypassing buying presents for fellowship.
And I’m thinking that sounds kinda nice.
Fellowship.
Here’s Webster’s version:
1 : companionship, company
2 a : community of interest, activity, feeling, or experience b : the state of being a fellow or associate
3 : a company of equals or friends : association
4 : the quality or state of being comradely
5 obsolete : membership, partnership
I think we could all use some more fellowship (company, community, association, partnership) don’t you?
Christmas really isn’t about the presents.
And I tell myself that every year but this year I think God is helping us all to understand it’s about relationship, not gifts. And I find myself relieved, in a way, that we can’t buy, buy, buy for Christmas. Because it makes me stop and think. What really is important to me at Christmas?
Is it that I want to have enough gifts under the tree for my kids?
Or is it teaching them about love, and fellowship, and togetherness?
What do I really want my kids to learn?
I’m sure, in my heart, that it’s about relationship.
Now, if I can only get my brain to follow my heart I’ll be in good shape.
IN HIM ALWAYS…
As I watch my children struggle with ungrateful hearts I find the same wicked heart in myself.
It’s ugly.
I don’t like it.
God has so blessed our family with a job, a warm house, a healthy family, good friends.
But I find myself sometimes staring into the abyss of what once was, how living in debt (although a total lie) was so much easier than trying to live life without it.
Why do our hearts ever wander to what is not?
Why, when He has proven Himself faithful time and time again, do I still struggle for control?
Sometimes I really want to smack myself. Or take my heart out of my chest, give it a stern talking to and return it to it’s position within my body.
Thankfulness. Gratefulness. Contentment. Peace.
Great-Full-Ness………GOD.
"Lord, let me walk with the wise so that I may be wise. Give me a thankful heart. Forgive me when my doubt and unbelief become bigger than you."
…no actually I was reading Miss A LA MODE’s ever-so-eloquent post POLLYANNA I"M NOT
Then it took me twenty minutes to figure out how to spell eloquent.
I’m thinking, "Darn, if my friend wasn’t so good with words I wouldn’t be struggling with spelling this darn word."
If you read her words you’d think she never leaves her house but just like you and me she sees herself so differently than others see her.
Don’t we all?
She’s got the sweetest spirit of anyone you will ever meet. She’s always quick to help anyone who only asks and she gave me shaving cream one time. A whole bottle! Of shaving cream!
Now that’s love!
She shares the feeling most stay-at-home mom’s have. By five o’clock we do meet questions from our wee ones with blank stares. Thinking to ourselves, "How can anyone have any questions left? There were none when we were discussing The Great Schism today." Why now? And who really cares where asparagus come from or the fact that it’s a Veggie Tales character.
See our kids give us those same blank looks when we’re trying our hardest to homeschool them.
You know that look…… "DUH"……… "HUH?"
I know those of you who know her know what a wonderful friend she is. My life is a better place because she is in it. She’s openly honest with her struggles. She cracks me up. We’ve sworn to bake cookies in our PJ’s one day next week and drink coffee all day. Home Economics Day, we’re calling it.
I’ve known her for years. We met at a Women’s Bible Study we both still attend—-then with barely one kid and pregnant, then pregnant again. We’ve made it up to three kids for her and four for me. At Bible Study this week we openly admitted to the sensation of lactating just holding the latest newborn in our group. We think we’d like more kids…..at least in that shiny pretty place in our heads. But we sometimes sleep through the night now and let me tell ya, that’s hard to give up, even for that newborn baby smell.
So don’t let her fool you.
She’s just like you and me. She see’s herself differently than others see her.
She listens to the nasty inner voices.
She fights the secret inner mommy monster we all do.
And she smiles, slaps on another layer of deodorant, puts her hair in a pony tail and says, "Come on in. Please excuse the mess." As her littlest peanut meets you and with his sweetest little "not two" voice and says, "Pee Pee Potty" as his little boy curls plop here and there.
She’s potty training her youngest boy in the same manner I did.
Just go ask another mom who’s raised a boy.
I’m not giving any secrets away here.
Power to ya sister!!
IN HIM–
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